1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle, including an internal combustion engine for an ethanol-containing fuel and including an auxiliary heater.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Internal combustion engines are known from the prior art in various embodiments. Most recently, ethanol has been increasingly recommended as an alternative fuel to conventional fuels. An ethanol-containing fuel is offered for instance by the name E85, which contains 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Since ethanol can be obtained from renewable resources, the expectation is that the sales of such ethanol-containing fuels will rise in the future. One problem with ethanol-containing fuels, however, is that they have poor cold-starting properties. These poor cold-starting properties are due to the relatively high temperature of evaporation of ethanol, at approximately 78° C. With the admixture of the gasoline, the cold-starting properties are fundamentally improved. However, problems arise at temperatures below 0° C.
To make it possible to start vehicles operated with ethanol at temperatures below 0° C., a separate supplementary heater must be provided.
From the prior art, auxiliary heaters are also known, which are typically operated with the fuel used by the engine. The heat furnished by the auxiliary heater is utilized for heating the coolant of the engine and/or the passenger compartment, via a heat exchanger.